A Christmas To Remember - LLOA Christmas Cookie
by fourandtwenty
Summary: Just in time for the Christmas season, a Least Likely of All Christmas Cookie. A man realizes exactly what Christmas means to him, with his family there to guide him. At Christmas... this is where you belong.


**A Christmas To Remember - Least Likely of All Christmas Cookie**  
  
  
I strongly suggest reading Least Likely of All before you read this... or if you don't, it should be fairly understandable. Hell, read this THEN read Least Likely of All, if it peaks your interest at all.   
_Merry Christmas!_  
Aimée  
  
  
  
  
It was December 24th; Christmas Eve for many of the nations of the world. Snow was falling thickly from the black velvet sky as I heard a knock on the oak French doors, announcing the arrival of my son and his guest. With a glance towards my wife, I walked across the room and into the foyer, throwing the doors open to Harry and Draco, both standing there with loads of gifts in their arms.  
  
"Dad, let us in, we're freezing!" exclaimed Harry, his teeth chattering a mile a minute. I took the first few presents off the pile he was holding and stepped aside, allowing both he and Draco to step past me into the foyer, where they stamped the snow off their boots and took off their snow-soaked cloaks.  
  
"Why didn't you Apparate in?" I questioned, taking the last of the presents from the two men in my arms. "It would have been a lot quicker and much warmer."  
  
"We weren't willing to risk leaving presents behind or being splinched." Draco answered, brushing the snow out of his already silver-blonde hair. "Wouldn't have been fair to the kids."  
  
"Harry?" my wife called from the other room, "Draco? Is that you?"  
  
"Mum!" Harry exclaimed, forgetting about his numb cheeks immediately and running to embrace her. "How have you been?"  
  
Lily smiled, "Wonderful, son. How are you doing?"  
  
Harry released his mother and turned towards Draco, who was lingering next to me, almost afraid to take a step inside.   
  
"We're doing good, really good." He smiled, motioning for Draco to join him. I took the clear path as an opportunity to set down the load of presents under the twelve foot tall Christmas tree sitting in the middle of the large sitting room, where all of our children were gathered.   
  
Dea and Khalida, my wife and I's two oldest daughters, sat gossiping in the northern corner of the room, surrounded by plush satin pillows and each eating a red and white candy cane. Drake and Dakota, our middle son and second-youngest daughter, were watching the newest addition to our family; Lorelei, who was gurgling away happily in Drake's arms.  
  
Castor and Pollux, our twins and youngest sons, were seated next to Ethan, my oldest child, who had just graduated from Hogwarts the summer previous. He was Lily's second son, next to Harry, even though few of the other children knew this. Ethan was crossing his arms and glaring across the room towards Harry at the present time, and I could hear the thoughts running through his head like water.  
  
_ Bastard… what's he doing here? Damn it… Why can't he leave? Fucker…__  
_  
I sighed, knowing I shouldn't have to listen to his thoughts – a gift given to me by Voldemort many years before that I had passed on to Lily – to know exactly what my son was thinking. He and Harry had never gotten along; it had always been a territorial fight, mainly over Lily and myself, but lately things had gotten much more violent. When Harry was still living at home, I had to pull the two apart by force on more than one occasion, none of which I wished to relive tonight.  
  
I set my hand on Draco's shoulder and guided him to where Lily and Harry were standing, attempting to make him feel a bit more at ease. He and Harry's relationship had just recently been patched up, and I wasn't about to put a rift between them once more.  
  
"How are you doing, Draco?" I asked quickly, setting a free hand on the small of Lily's back.  
  
"Pretty good," he smiled faintly, inching closer to Harry as we spoke. "I've decided to look for a job; sitting around the flat all day is getting fairly boring."  
  
"And he insists he doesn't want to watch Quidditch Practice five days a week," Harry grinned, "I was worried for a while, especially when I realized he was serious."  
  
Lily laughed and the loud clear sound echoed through my mind. "Why don't you just join a Quidditch team, Draco? Lord knows you're good enough to go national."  
  
He shrugged, a smile on his face. "One Seeker in the house is enough for now."  
  
Harry grinned, and then motioned towards one of the empty couches. "Shall we?"  
  
The four of us made our way onto the leather seats, relaxing into the cool material. Christmas had always been one of my favourite seasons; Lily and I had become engaged on Christmas, married the next day. Ever since then, Christmas was a fairy tale of sorts that I was able to relive once a year.  
  
"Remus should be arriving any time now," announced Lily, scooting as close to me as possible. I smiled inwardly as I caught the scent of her coconut shampoo; she had taken hours to get ready for this night, wanting everything to be perfect. It was a rare time indeed when we had the entire family under one roof these days.  
  
Before the rest of us could say a word, there was a soft _pop _coming from the foyer, and a moment later Remus Lupin stepped into the sitting room with a small blonde child in tow; Micah Lupin.  
  
Remus had married Narcissa Malfoy a little under ten years before, and had become Draco's adoptive father. Narcissa had killed herself only a year before, leaving Draco as a biological orphan and Micah motherless. It was a tough subject for all of us, as it had affected our families' relationships permanently.   
  
"Dad!" Draco exclaimed, standing up immediately and greeting Remus with a hug. Lily rose as well, giving Remus a kiss on the cheek before inviting him to sit down and join us. She resumed her position next to me, curling up into a ball and leaning her head on my shoulder. I greeted Remus in a friendly manner, giving him a small smile.  
  
We continued to talk for a few more minutes before one of our house-elves announced dinner was ready, and then we all retreated to the dining room. A table able to seat twenty with room to spare stretched across the room, with me seated at the head of the table with Lily by my side, and Harry seated on the opposite end, next to Draco.   
  
Nothing memorable was said during dinner; it was simply things such as "It must have taken the house-elves forever to prepare this!" and "These potatoes – simply divine!". After the last bite of Christmas pudding was swallowed, we made our way out of the dining room and back into the sitting room, where all of the presents under the tree glittered merrily.   
  
Before I allowed anyone to rip into the pile, I stood up and observed my children for a few moments, watching as Castor and Pollux's eyes went wide with anticipation, and how Harry and Draco's hands were intertwined firmly between them.   
  
"It's been quite the year, hasn't it?" I smiled, meeting Lily's eyes. "Lorelei came into our family, but she wasn't the only addition; Remus, Draco, and Micah - thank you for joining us tonight."  
  
The two men nodded, smiling and both raising their wine glasses in a gesture of gratitude.  
  
"It was our pleasure." Said Remus, setting his glass down and allowing me to continue.  
  
"I know we haven't always been the most stable of families –" with this comment, I shot a glance over towards both Harry and Ethan, Lily and Remus. "-and it's nice to finally be able to converse in peace. Truly, that's what Christmas is all about. Not the decorations, not the food, and especially the gifts – sorry boys." I grinned over towards the twins, who looked shocked to learn Christmas wasn't about the gifts they received.   
  
"Family is the most important thing to a human; their family is their comfort zone, their safety net when times get rough…" Once again, I glanced over towards Harry and Draco. "All I ask from you all tonight is to throw down the barriers; just be a family tonight. I love you all – yes, even you three, Remus, Draco, Micah – and all I wish is for us to make this a Christmas to remember."  
  
Lily stood up and made her way over to me, weaving through cross-legged children in her path. Once she reached me, she looped her arm around my waist and looked down at our children, all of whom were excited and anxious to tear into their presents.  
  
"Go ahead, open them." She laughed, quickly stepping away from the tree as they attacked, pulling me with her. We went to sit down once again, watching our children open their gifts, some of which they had been waiting all year to receive.  
  
_It's been such a wonderful night…_ Lily said to me, nuzzling my neck.  
  
_It has, hasn't it?_ I replied, looking down into her amber eyes.   
  
_I want to thank you,_ She replied, leaning up against me once more.   
  
_For what, love?__  
__  
__For always being there for me… For loving me all these years… For sticking with me the first few… For being my husband… And for our children.__  
__  
__Twenty three years… It's been quite the ride, hasn't it?__  
__  
__I've enjoyed every moment of it, especially the time I've spent with you.__  
__  
__Who would have thought it would last this long?__  
__  
__Nine children, love. Who would have thought we would have nine children together?__  
__  
__Ten.__  
__  
__Yes, Lil, of course. Ten, I'm sorry.__  
__  
__Christmas is a time of remembrance… A time to reflect on the good in life, and a time to remember what was taken away from us.__  
__  
__It is… I just want you to know, Lily, that I'll love you forever, no matter what happens. __  
__  
__You've already proven that to me… And I'll love you forever as well, Severus._  
  
I kissed Lily's – my wife for the past twenty three years – forehead gently, watching our children scramble under the tree. We were both content, nothing was wrong; we were both quite certain nothing would go wrong, either. Things were far too good, everyone was far too happy, snow was falling in thick clumps outside, and I was as happy as I had ever been. Our family was together again, and that was all that really mattered.  
  
It was a Christmas to remember.  
  
  
  
_  
__Snow's falling down as you step out of your car__  
__Presents in your arms and you've traveled far__  
__Someone opens the door with a smile on their face__  
__And you know you've come to the right place__  
__  
__Family nestled by the fire__  
__Christmas hopes to inspire__  
__Loved ones by your side __  
__You know you'll kiss your babies goodnight__  
__  
__At Christmas, Christmas__  
__No matter who you are, how far you've come__  
__This is where you belong__  
__At Christmas__  
__  
__Memories round the Christmas tree__  
__Are the sweetest ones that remain with me __  
__It's a comfort deep inside, though you can't stop the race of time__  
__To know that Christmas will always be__  
__  
__Family nestled by the fire__  
__A Christmas hope will be inspired__  
__Loved ones by your side__  
__You know you'll kiss your baby goodnight__  
__  
__At Christmas, Christmas__  
__No matter who you are how far you've come__  
__This is where you belong, where you belong__  
__At Christmas_  
  
_Can't you feel it changin'__  
__Sense the anticipation__  
__You can tell we're almost there__  
__Precious time we're takin'__  
__Memories we're makin'__  
__There's Christmas in the air__  
__  
__Now this is what Christmas means to me__  
__Being together with your family__  
__And the wise men who followed that star__  
__To where our baby Jesus lay__  
__  
__Family nestled all around__  
__Baby Jesus asleep so sound__  
__And his star shines so bright__  
__On that very first holy night__  
__  
__At Christmas, Christmas__  
__No matter who you are how far you've come__  
__This is where you belong__  
__At Christmas, Christmas*  
_  
*At Christmas, Hanson_  
_  
  



End file.
